Coin controlled garment checking apparatus



Feb. 15, 1938. w. w. DENNIN 2,303,402

COIN CONTROLLED GARMENT CHECKING APPARATUS I Filed June 24, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MCDE/WW/V Patented Feb. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES COIN CONTROLLED GARMENT CHECKING APPARATUS William W. Dennin, Albany, N. Y.

Application June 24, 1936, Serial No. 86,945

'7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in garment checking devices and has particular reference to a coin controlled mechanism for such devices.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus of simple and practical construction by means of which garments may be securely protected in public places and the like against loss by theft or otherwise.

10 Another object is to provide an improved apparatus into which a coin or other token may be deposited and said coin utilized in controlling the movement of a garment locking member to its operative position by effecting the adjustment 15' to an inoperative position of an element which normally prevents such movement.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying 20 drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of the checking apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention and shown in its inoperative position.

Figure 2 is also a front elevation showing, in full lines, the closed or operative position of the apparatus, and illustrating, in dotted lines, the position of a portion of the casing of the device 30 when it is opened to remove. coins or other tokens therefrom.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation with the back of the casing removed and the movable locking member in its inoperative position.

35 Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a cushioning means for one of the arms of the movable locking member, with the arm in contact with one of the stationary locking members.

40 Figure 5 is a sectional view in rear elevation of the mechanism within the casing, the parts being shown in the position they assume'at the time a coin 'is inserted into the apparatus.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 showing 45 the position of the parts after the locking member has been adjusted to its operative position and illustrating the manner in which the coin is utilized to release said locking member and permit its movement to such position,

50 Figure 7 is a vertical section on the line 1-1 of Figure 5, and

Figure 8 is a horizontal'seotion on the line 8--8 of Figure 5.

The preferred embodiment of the. invention, as

ygillustratedrin the drawings, is adapted for attachment to a suitable support such as a wall, and is located for the convenience of patrons in public places and the like who wish to check their garments. For this purpose the apparatus comprises a casing consisting of back and front sec- 5 tions In and II the former of which may be attached to a support by screws l2 or other suitable fasteners. The back section 0 is provided with a bottom I3 and also with angular guides l4 disposed along the vertical edges thereof, which 10 guides are adapted to receive the inturned flanges I 5 formed at the rear vertical edgeslof the front section I l to slidably support the latter section for vertical adjustment relative to theback section. Normally the two sections of the casing are locked together by a lock [6 mounted upon the bottom l3 and provided with a sliding bolt ll engageable with 2, lug ill on the front section to prevent vertical movement of said section. Should it be desired to open the casing, as for instance when coins or other tokens are to be withdrawn therefrom by authorized persons, the lock l6 may be operated to release the front section whereupon the same may be moved vertically tothe dotted line position shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

To support garments upon the device, the front section II of the casing is provided adjacent its lower ends with two stationary looking members I9 in the form of hooks upon the upper ends of which a garment may be suspended or which are adapted to receive the supporting strap of a garment such as an overcoat, in which instance the garment will be suspended from the lower horizontal portion of the hook. Cooperating with the stationary members I9 is a movable locking member which is supported by the casing for sliding adjustment relative thereto so that it can be moved to operative and inoperative positions relative to the members l9. This locking memher, as shown, comprises two interconnected arms 20 and 2| having inner portions disposed within the casing and joined by a cross-bar 22 secured to the arms by fasteners 23. The outer portions of the arms extend upwardly from the casing and are bent upon themselves as indicated at 24 so that their extremities extend downwardly in the direction of the members l9 and are vertically aligned therewith whereby the locking members will cooperate to clamp a garment therebetween 5 when the adjustable locking member is moved to the operative position shown in full lines in Figure 2. If desired, the lower extremities of the arms 20, 2! may be cushioned by a yieldable tip 25 mounted-upon the extremity of each arm. v

Said tip may be in the form of a sleeve having its upper end crimped, as indicated at 26, into a groove 2'! formed in the lower end of the arm so as to perment of limited movement of the tip, there being a coil spring 28 interposed between the lower end of the arm and the bottom of the tip 25 to yieldably maintain the latter in a projected position. The inner end of the arm 20 is extended below the cross-bar 22 and through the bottom l3 of the casing to provide a handle 29 by means of which the movable locking member may be pulled downwardly to its operative position after a coin has been inserted into the apparatus in a manner to be hereinafter described. A spring 30 is coiled about the portion of the handle 23 located within the casing and is interposed between the cross-bar and a lug 3| carried by the front section in the casing, said spring acting to normally retain the movable locking member in its raised or inoperative position and to restore the same to such position when garments are released from the device in a manner later to appear.

Secured within the front section I of the casing at an intermediate point thereof is a casting which consists of two horizontally disposed, spaced plates 32 through which the inner ends of the arms 26, 2| extend, the lower plate acting as an abutment for the cross-bar 22 so as to limit the upward movement to inoperative position of the movable locking member under the influence of the spring 33. Said casting further includes a curved coin chute 33 extending upwardly from the upper plate 32 and through the top of the casing, with the upper extremity of the chute provided with an opening 34 for receiving a coin or token. The inner or lower end of the chute is closed by a wall 35 which acts as a stop to properly position the coin 35, as shown in Figure 5, preparatory to adjusting the locking member to its operative position. As the coin 36 reaches the latter position it also extends through an elongated slot 3'! formed in the arm 2|), said slot being of greater length than the diameter of the coin and being aligned with the chute so as to receive said coin and support the same at the lower end of said slot.

A locking means such as the detent 38 is adapted to be actuated by the coin 36 when the movable locking member is pulled downwardly, and for this purpose said detent is slidably dispose-d between the plates 32. Normally the detent 38 is in a position to prevent a complete actuation of the movable locking member to its operative position so that the device cannot be 'used by a person without depositing a coin. To

this end, the detent 38 is provided with an opening 39 through which the lower end of the arm 2| extends and the portion 40 of said detent forming one end of said opening is normally disposed in an elongated recess 4| formed in said arm and is yieldably held therein by an expansible spring 42 disposed between the plates 32 and contacting the adjacent end of the detent. Thus, without a coin having been first deposited into the chute 33, should a downward pull be exerted upon the handle 29 the arms 20, 2| could move downwardly until the upper end of the recess 4| contacts the portion 40 but this movement is not sufficient to bring the locking members into cooperative clamping position. On the other hand, with a coin 36 deposited into the device and positioned as shown in Figure 5, when a downward pull is exerted upon the handle, the coin will first be lowered so as to partially pro,-

ject through a slot 43 in the adjacent end of the upper plate 32 where it will contact the adjacent end of the detent 38 and be momentarily held between the. same and the wall 35 of the chute. The distance between said wall and said end of the detent is less than the diameter of the coin of proper dimension which must be used in order to successfully operate the device, but is of such dimension as to allow a smaller coin to drop through said space and into the bottom of the casing, without operating the detent when the handle 29 is pulled downwardly. As previously mentioned, the coin 36 normally rests against the detent 38 during the initial stages of the downward movement of the locking member but as soon as upper end of the slot 31 contacts the coin the latter is forced downwardly to the position shown in Fi ure 6 at the same time moving the detent 38 to the right as viewed in said figure so as to project the portion 40 of said detent from the recess 4| in the arm 2|, this action taking place before the upper end of said recess reaches the portion 40 in the downward movement of the arm 2|. The locking member, in cluding said arms 23, 2|, is now free to move downwardly to its fully operated position in association with the members I!) and as said movement continues from the position shown in Figure 6 the coin 38 will be forced through the plates 32 and will then drop to the bottom of the casing. Thereupon the detent 38 will be restored toward its normal position under the influence of the spring 42 with the portion 40 of the detent then in engagement with the arm 2| above the recess 4|. When the locking member is later released and the arms 20, 2| are moved upwardly under the influence of the spring 36 the portion 4|] will enter the recess 4| during the upward movement of the latter arm so that the detent will again be in its normal locking position.

Means are provided for locking the arms 20, 2| in their operative positions after they have been lowered into contact with the members |9 or with a garment or garments which may be suspended upon the upper ends of the latter members. For this purpose a spring-pressed bolt 44 is slidably mounted in a housing 45 disposed in the upper end of the casing between the arm 20 and the chute 33, the curvature of the latter afiording sufiicient space for the disposition of this housing. The outer end of said bolt is forced against the arm 2|! by a spring 46 and as soon as the locking member has been lowered sufficiently for the tips 25 of the arms 20, 2| to come into engagement with the upper ends of the members |9 or with a garment which is suspended upon said upper ends, a series of teeth 41 formed upon the arm 2|) will be brought into cooperative relation with the bolt 44 and the latter will engage one of said teeth, depending upon the extent of the downward movement of the locking member, and such engagement of the bolt with said tooth will retain the locking member in its operative position until it is released. To eiTect such release, there is associated with the bolt 43 a lock conventionally shown at 48 which may be of any standard or well known construction. The type of lock employed is one in which the key 49 thereof is held against removal from the lock when the apparatus is in its inoperative condition but which may be withdrawn from said look after the movable locking member of the apparatus is adjusted to its operative position relative to the members 9. To this end, the tumbler of the lock is provided at its inner end with an arm 5E! engaged by a pin 5| carried by the sliding bolt 64 so that when said bolt moves back and forth it will rock the arm 50 and thus turn the tumbler of the look. In Figure 5, the arm 50 is so positioned that the tumbler of the lock is turned so as to prevent withdrawal of the key 49. However, when said arm 50 is rocked to the position of Figure 6 in which the bolt is in engagement with one of the teeth 41, the tumbler of the lock is turned so that the key 49 may be withdrawn by the person who has checked and locked his garment. Such person may retain the key in his possession until he desires to remove the garment whereupon insertion into the lock 48 and a turning movement of said key,

in the proper direction will effect the withdrawal of the bolt 44 from the tooth 41 and a consequent restoration of the tumbler of the lock to the position where said key cannot again be withdrawn without first depositing a coin into the chute 33 and proceeding as previously described. As soon as the bolt M is withdrawn from engagement with the tooth 41 the spring 30 immediately becomes effective to restore the movable locking member to the inoperative position of Figure 1 and the apparatus is now in condition for another operation.

What is claimed is: e

1. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, a casing, cooperating garment locking members carried by said casing, with one of said members slidably supported therein for movements to open and closed positions and including two connected arms having portions projecting from said casing, a movable detent normally engaging one of said arms to prevent closure thereof, a chute for directing a coin into engagement with the other of said arms, the latter arm having means to contact and move said coin into engagement with said detent and move the same to releasing position relative to the first named arm when said arms are moved toward their closing positions, and means to. engage one of said arms to releasably retain the same in closed position after said detent has been actuated.

2. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, a casing, cooperating garment locking members carried by said casing, with one of said members slidably supported therein for movements to open and closed positions and including two arms having portions projecting from said cas ing, one of said arms having a coin receiving slot therein and the other provided with a recess, a movable detent normally engaging in said recess to limit movement of said arms toward their closing position, a chute for'directing a coin into the slot in the first named arm, means to adjust said arms toward their closing positions to thereby engage said coin with said detent and move the same out of said recess and thereby permit of the arms being adjusted to fully closed position, and means to lock said arms in the latter position.

3. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, a

casing, cooperating garment locking members carried by said casing, with one of said members slidably supported therein for movements to open and closed positions and including two arms having portions projecting from said casing, one of said arms having a coin receiving slot therein and the other provided with a recess, a movable detent normally engaging in said recess to limit movement of said arms toward their closing position, a chute for directing a coin into the slot in the first named arm, means to adjust said arms toward their closing positions to thereby engage said coin with said detent and move the same out of said recess and thereby permit of the arms being adjusted to fully closed position, looking means for retaining said arms in closed position, and spring means to restore said arms to open position when said locking means is unlocked.

' 4. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, a casing, cooperating garment locking members carried by said casing, with one of said members slidably supported therein for movements to open and closed positions and including two arms having portions projecting from said casing, one of said arms having a coin receiving slot therein and the other provided with a recess, a guide in said casing through which said arms extend, a spring pressed detent slidably mounted within said guide and having an opening through which the second mentioned arm projects, a portion of said detent adjacent said opening engaging in the recess of said second mentioned arm to limit movement of said arms toward their closed position, a chute for directing a coin into the slot in the first mentioned arm at a point adjacent one end of said detent, means to adjust said arms toward said closing position so that one end of said slot will engage said coin and force the same into contact with said detent and thereby move the latter to disengage it from the recess of the second mentioned arm so as to allow a complete movement of the arms to their closing position, and means to lock said arms in th latter position.

5. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, a casing, cooperating garment-locking members carried by said casing with one of said members supported therein for movements to open and closed positions and having a coin actuating means, a detent slidably mounted in said casing between portions of said movable member and normally engaging one of said portions to prevent movement of the member to closed position,

-a chute guiding a coin into engagement with said coin actuating means so that the latter will move said coin into contact with said detent when said movable member is adjusted toward its closed position to thereby slide said detent out of its restraining position relative to the first-named portion of said movable member and thus permit the latter to be moved to its closed position, and means to releasably retain said member in said position.

6. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, cooperating garment-locking members, one of which is movable to open and closed positions relative to the other and has a portion provided with a coin-receiving slot and another portion with a recess, a movable detent normally engaging in said recess to limit movement of said movable locking member to closed position, means operable after a coin has been deposited into said slot for moving said locking member to its closed position and thereby engage said coin with said detent to move the latter to releasing position relative to the second-named portion of said locking member and means to releasably retain the latter member in its closed position.

7. In a coin controlled checking apparatus, a casing, cooperating garment-locking members carried by said casing with one of said members having spaced portions supported in said casing for movements therein when the latter locking member is moved to closed and opened positions,

-a movable detent normally engaging one of the portions of said movable member to prevent movement thereof to closed position, the other portion of said movable member having a looking means thereon and further having a coin receiving slot therein, a chute guiding a coin into said slot, means to move said movable locking member toward its closed position to thereby engage an end of said slot with said coin and move the latter into contact with said detent to actuate the same to releasing position relative to the first named portion of said movable looking member, and a lock in said casing between said chute and said other portion operable to engage the locking means on the latter portion to lock said movable member in its closed position after said detent has been actuated.

WILLIAM W. DENNIN. 

